Everything Became Clear
by Im-just-peachy
Summary: She kept looking around, trying to find something to prove to her she was asleep, but then she saw it. A worn, tattered, and burnt copy of "Little Women" sitting a few feet from her. Lauren was reading that on the plane- And then everything came back, hitting her all at once. Team StarKid. Darren/Julia. Walker/Lauren. Joey/Jaime. Brian/Meredith. Co-Authored with Stefanie!
1. Chapter 1: The Begining

"Mere? Mere! Wake up!"

Meredith Stepien opened her eyes, but immediately closed them due to the harsh sunlight beating down on her. She put her hands over them, opening her eyes and looking through her fingers. She felt something wet just below her eye brow. _Am I bleeding?_

"Wait, what happened? Where are we?" She sat up, and almost whacked into Brian who was leaning over her. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he said, looking as if he was trying not to say something.

"Bri…what-," her thought was stopped when she saw the wreckage. There were pieces of metal lying in the sand, some already being pulled out to sea. _Why am I on a beach?_ She shook the thought from her head, she was dreaming. I was a really weird dream. She kept looking around, trying to find something to prove to her she was asleep, but then she saw it. A worn, tattered, and burnt copy of "Little Women" sitting a few feet from her. _Lauren was reading that on the plane-_

And then everything came back, hitting her all at once.

"_Can you __**please**__ stop bouncing my seat?" Jaime's round blue eyes appeared over the seat in front of the petite brunette._

"_She probably just has to pee… __**again**__…" she heard Joe mumble into his magazine as he failed to suppress a small chuckle._

"_So what if I do, Walker!" Her indignant tone caught the attention of some of the surrounding passengers._

"_I am just saying, you have the bladder of a squirrel, Lopez!" He shut the cover of SkyMall and turned around to face his spit-fire friend._

"_Guys! Shhhh…. There are people trying to sleep." Julia, who was sitting to Lauren's right, hushed the bickering friends like the mother hen she was, "Lauren, you know I hate airplane bathrooms as much as you do, but this is a 19 hour flight… you won't be able to hold it." _

"_Fine!" She grumbled, scrabbling out of her seat and -stepping on the groin of the, then, sleeping Joey Richter- she made her way down the aisle, smacking Joe upside the head on her way._

"_I swear… that girl can't go 20 seconds without having to pee." Julia spoke in agreement as soon as the tiny girl was out of earshot, the surrounding members of Team StarKid laughed a bit at their smallest companion's expense, and they didn't miss the way her gray eyes flicked over to their most famous friend to see if he found her remark as funny as the rest of them._

_A few moments later and the friends had settled back into their former positions; Meredith was resting quietly on Brian's shoulder; her brown eyes drooping with sleep. Brian Holden smiled softly down at his girlfriend's tired form before fixating his eyes onto the small TV a few rows ahead of them. To Meredith's right, Charlene was dozing against the window, her ear-buds blasting the 1980's classic "Total Eclipse of the Heart". A row behind Charlene, Darren Criss sat with wandering eyes. His left leg was bouncing up and down with excitement; the curly-haired man was ecstatic, not only to be headed to Australia, but to be back with his family. To Darren's left was Jaime, who browsed absent-mindedly through the most-recent issue of People Magazine and periodically sneaking a glance at the shaggy-haired friend in the next row. Joe Walker had finished with his copy of SkyMall and was now on the hunt for the most comfortable position for a tall man on a small plane. One row back found Joey Richter snoring slightly, his lanky legs stretched out intrusively in the aisle next to him. To his right, an empty seat, except for the hardcover copy of "Little Women" which Lauren had been engrossed in before her bladder began crying for relief. Julia sat in the next seat, her glasses resting comfortably on her nose, and her hand cramping as she scribbled furiously in a black notebook that rested flat on the tray table in front of her. In the final row that the StarKids had booked, Dylan's thumbs were getting some exercise on the old Gameboy Advanced, though he was lazily slouched, with his head lying against the headrest. Next to Dylan, Liam White was napping soundly, and Clark drummed his long fingers against the window._

_THUMP_

"_Oops… Sorry!" _

_The flight attendant gave the short brunette a disgusted look and snarled at the apology. The blonde in uniform rubbed her shoulder and forced acceptance as Lauren made her way back toward her friends, her jaw hanging open in disbelief._

"_Well… she was fucking rude." Joe, who had turned at the thump knowing it probably had something to do with his clumsy friend, had his head hanging out into the aisle glared at the back of the airline employee while addressing his friend. She smiled grimly and placed a gentle hand on his muscular shoulder for support as she stepped delicately over Joey's outstretched legs._

_Lauren settled back into her seat, and back into her book. Joe finally managed to doze off, Julia released a large yawn, and Jaime got up to stretch her legs. Dylan was tickling Liam's nose with the end of a pen, just to laugh when the sleeping man repeatedly swiped at his face, and Meredith gave up on sleeping and was talking quietly to Brian. _

_The blonde flight attendant started coming around with a garbage bag, and suddenly the plane began to jerk in violent spasms._

And suddenly, everything became clear.

"We crashed…" She spoke softly, the words sounded hollow and foreign. Not a second later the words finally sunk into her reality, "We crashed?" This time she whispered them harshly to Brian who nodded solemnly, "We crashed."


	2. Chapter 2: No Matter The Cost

He isn't quite sure how everyone managed. Everything had happened so fast it was difficult to be sure. All he knew was that he was surrounded by water and people crying out for help.

They were close to the beach, he could see, but the water was still a good 40 feet deep, he caught sight of what remained of the plane; half on land, half resting in the sea. Most of it had gone up in flames, and he could see parts of it floating around him in the water.

He treaded water for a bit, his blue eyes were wide and searching desperately for his friends. He caught sight of two familiar forms; Brian and Meredith were on the beach. Two down. Not far from them, he found Joey cradling his arm against his chest. There is another. He kept looking and he saw Jaime, Charlene, Liam and Darren all swimming for the sand. That's seven…

"Joe! Joe!" He heard Julia's voice calling out a few feet behind him. He turned and was relieved to find Clark and Dylan with her.

"Thank God you are okay!" Her curls were plastered against her cheeks and the scarf that had been tied firmly in her hair was now hanging on by a thread. She had a small burn mark along her jaw, and was clearly flustered, but he was so thankful to see her alive.

"C'mon. Everyone is headed to the beach…" And she and the boys began swimming to the white sand.

He was in a daze. He kept telling himself to get moving, to follow his friends, but something was keeping him there.

_Darren, Julia, Charlene. Liam, Dylan, Clark. Joey, Jaime, Brian, Meredith… Me…._

Lauren.

"Lauren!" He shouted, his eyes widened in fear, and he began to desperately splash through the salt water, his head constantly on a swivel for the tiny brunette, "Lauren!"

"Are you guys okay!" Julia ran up to Brian, Joey and Meredith, giving each of them a drippy, tight embrace.

"Yea, we're fine."Brian answered calmly, looking into the faces of each of his friends, thankful to see them alright.

"I think my arm is broken."Joey spoke through a clenched and crooked jaw. The group hissed as they saw the swollen and bruised limb, a large bump sticking out roughly from beneath the skin. As Dylan and Clark inspected it further, Meredith began counting heads.

"We are two short... Who is missing?" Her voice growing higher in pitch as she grew more and more panicked.

"We saw Joe in the water... he was right behind us." Julia shaded her eyes from the sun, and scanned the waves. But Meredith's eyes went straight to the book lying open and face-down in the sand.

_Lauren._

"Lauren." She stated loudly, catching the attention of her friends who were talking amongst themselves. Standing up, slowly to avoid blacking out again, she walker a few paces to the left. Bending down she picked up the novel. Cradling it like a small child, not wanting to think about what might have happened to the story's owner.

Suddenly, Brian and Darren were off, throwing themselves back into the ocean. Julia began running down the beach, asking any other person she saw if they had seen a girl with Lauren's description. One of their own was missing, and they were going to get her back. No matter the cost.

_No. No. No. This cannot be happening. Not her. Please! Not her! _Joe thought.

He kept calling out, raising his voice to be heard above the chaos. Then he tried something he had hoped he wouldn't have to do. Taking a deep breath, forcing his lungs -which had been conditioned for large intakes of air- to hit maximum capacity. And he dove. It was dangerous, he knew. With the amount of people at the surface it would be hard to find an opening, and undertow could easily cast him farther out to sea without him realizing it.

It wasn't these thoughts that struck him with fear, though. It was the sight beneath the waves that scared him most. Visibility seemed much easier now. There was so much less to block his view, but it was the occasional blocks that scared him most.

There were bodies. Whether they were unconscious or dead, he didn't know. But seeing them float lifelessly around was eerie enough for him to shudder.

But he only allowed himself this fear for a moment; he had something much more important to focus on. He thought back to what he remembered her to be wearing; that periwinkle colored shirt with the horse in it, black leggings, and black converse, and he started his search again this time in the water that stung his open eyes.

His lungs started to burn and his head began to pound but he paid it no mind. He pushed a small black piece of luggage out of his way, and that's when he saw her.

There was a wispy trail of blood originating from the top of her head and much more opaque one from the deep gash on her left temple. It was the stillest he has ever seen the vivacious small friend. Too still for comfort; there was no bright eyes visible, no beaming smile, no infectious laughter: Just Lauren looking pale and lifeless. He clawed hard through the dense ocean, though half a second it took to get to her, it felt to Joe like hours, and he feared he might be too late.

Wrapping his left arm tightly round her waist, he pulled her to him and kicked hard for the surface. He broke through and gasped loudly for air. Adjusting the girl in his arms so her head was well-above water, Joe began the swim to shore, it seemed much farther away now, but he didn't care. He would swim back to Chicago if it meant Lauren would be okay.

"Joe!" Darren and Brian were now swimming towards him, both looked fearful, and when they saw who he held, fearful turned to terrified.

"Oh God, is she..." Brian would dare finish the sentence.

The three of them paddled quickly back towards the beach, Darren offered to take her so Joe wouldn't tire, but he refused the offer, not wanting her out of his grasp quite yet.

When the water became shallow enough for the boys to stand, Walker rashed her bridal-style out of the waves reach, and gently deposited her on the sand.

_Come on, come on... _He began pumping her chest, lifting her chin ever so slightly, he pinched her nose, and ducked his head. He placed his mouth against her soft lips, breathing hard, he began to pray.

Something he hadn't done in a long time.

He repeated the steps three times more, growing more and more desperate each time. He hadn't even noticed his friends gathering around them. He heard a great sob come from Julia before there was a horrible retching noise.

Her small body convulsed as she threw up a few liters of water, along with whatever was in her stomach before the crash. Julia threw herself down beside her best friend, rubbing a soothing hand along her spine as she continued to cough.

Joe had walked away as soon as she had stopped puking. No one had noticed him leave the circle, and for that he was thankful, walking a few paces down the beach he sat himself down in the sand close to the water's edge, the waves lapped at his toes. He didn't remember losing his shoes, but he doesn't remember a lot of details. He buried his head in his arms and squeezed his eyes shut to hold back tears of relief.

Brian stoked the fire once more. Darren and Liam had done a great job with it, it was huge. He sat back down on the old airplane blanket that had washed up on the beach; he wrapped an arm around Meredith's shoulders. Others were on plane chairs ripped from the wreck, or logs pulled from the woods. Everyone was quiet now, exhausted from the day's events. The group around the fire was smaller than the group of passengers on the plane. They marked them with crosses made of sticks, and buried them yards down the beach. All of the StarKids had made it, thankfully. Joey's arm was broken, and there were cuts and scrapes, but nothing too major.

The survivors of the crash had done the best they could with salvaging usable materials from the plane. Taking as much luggage as they could find and planning on distributing and dividing their finds fairly the next day. They found a few snack and drink carts that were immediately set aside, as well as, tiny bottles of alcohol that were to be used only for medical purposes.

And as the sun went down, they all huddled around the fire. Meredith was leaning into Brian, Joey was in between Clark and Jaime, Julia was next to Charlene and Darren, and Lauren next to them, huddled in a blanket, still shaken from her near-drowning. Then there was Joe, sitting next to some of the other survivors, trying to think of a way to get them off of the island. The Australian fans would be going crazy. Some people were talking, some were staring off into space, trying to make sense of what happened. Lauren stood and walked over to Joe, trying not to make a scene of it.

"Hi," she whispered, kneeling next to him.

"What's up Lopez?" He tried to keep his tone playful, trying hard to forget the situation they were all in, but it came out tired. He smiled at her, and moved off of his log and sat next to her. The kindly old man with the thick gray moustache gave a small smile at the young pair. Noticing her downcast eyes and twiddling fingers, Joe tried again.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned, almost regretting it. He didn't want to keep it on her mind. He brought his eyes to hers, seeing the color of her eyes fade a little as she relived her ordeal.

"Yeah," she said, looking down again. She looked so tiny - tinier than usual - wrapped in her blanket. "I just wanted to thank you."

"What?" he asked, a bit surprised. Her gaze locked on his for a moment, whiskey eyes searching. There was a silent pause before she broke eye contact and continued.

"Thank you. For saving me. If it wasn't for you, I-" she broke off, not wanting to finish her thought.

He pulled her in close and kissed the gash on her temple softly, they sat like that for a while. They stayed like that while people drifted off to sleep on their make-shift beds, or curled up in the sand together, looking at the stars - they were so _clear _on the island.

Charlene had gone over to a 'bed' and had fallen asleep, leaving Darren and Julia together. Julia turned to Darren and smiled, happy to have a moment with him. She missed him, he was always working and she felt like she never got to spend time with him. But she'd rather not have their time together be on a deserted island with no idea what would happen next.

"Do you remember when you asked me out that first time?" She broke the silence with a soft smile, hoping he wouldn't mind bringing up their past.

Darren smiled at the memory. "Of course I do. It was the middle of Sophomore year, and we had just finished a show, it was the cast party. I had had a thing for you since the beginning of the year... That shot I had gave me enough courage to ask you." He started laughing, remembering himself tripping in front of her and into a chair.

She laughed and avoided his gaze, "That was also the night you had to get stitches... you know... the ones before these!" She teased and gestured to the row of neat black threading on his bicep that she had sewn up after the crash.

"Yeah..." He sighed, "The hospital probably isn't the best first-date." He shot her a smile.

And she knew.

It was a real Darren smile. Not an obligatory smile he gives at photo shoots, on interviews, or when he is mobbed by fans. It was to one he wore throughout college, when he got the call from Glee, when he joined them on tour. It was the one he always gave_ her._

Jaime gazed around the fire, her bright blues finding each familiar face first. It was a miracle they all made it. She smiled softly at Brian and Meredith cuddling on an old seat cushion. She shot Darren a playful wink when she caught him talking softly to Julia, making the poor guy blush scarlett. And she sighed contently when she saw Lauren eliciting a deep chuckle from Walker.

She looked over to Charlene who had curled up in the minute, homey area the gang had set up earlier. It was close enough to the fire to provide some warmth, but farther up the beach on the edge of the trees. Dylan took up residency beside her sleeping body. His eyes scanning the sea, his mind miles away.

Clark and Liam were sitting on a log off to her right, engaged in an epic thumb war battle. Their smiles were true, but worn out from the days events.

She then began to study the unfamiliars, though she didn't get very far. There was a flight attendant with bleach blonde hair, the same that was coming around collecting garbage when the turbulence began. She had sharp eyes and a sour expression as she shot a glance at Joe and Lauren.

Jaime made accidental eye contact when she snuck a glance at the old man next to Joe. He seemed sweet, and gave her a sad smile from across the flames. She smiled back, but it was one of comfort, not of joy. She didn't know much about the man, but she knew he lost his wife that day.

Back behind the circle, an Australian mother was singing quiet lullabies to her two young children. The kids appeared to be twins, about 5 years old, and had fair hair and eyes. She smiled at them, but the children were beginning to fall asleep, and the mother was smiling tenderly at them as she finished singing.

Lastly, she turned to Joey, who was grimacing every few seconds, the pain in his arm overbearing.

"You okay?" She asked for, what felt like, the thousandth time that day.

"Yea... it's just... Can you tighten this for me?" He asked, as he yanked and tugged at the makeshift sling.

Taking the torn shirt in her hands, she gently re tied the knot and eased her friend's arm into a new, much more comfortable fashion. As she did so, Joey's dark eyes grew darker, and he studied the familiar face once more, a secret hobby he had picked up long ago. He felt every brush of her nimble fingers, and although her skin was cool, the touch was hot.

"Better?" She mumbled.

"Much, thanks." The corners of his lips twitched in her direction. She patted his knee, and laid her head down delicately on his right shoulder, his unbroken side.

Finally, the StarKid family decided to call it a night. They made the mini-camp as comfy as possible, laying out blankets over loose sand, and cushions from the crashed plane for their heads. Dylan had even had the idea of setting up an old tarp he found, and, raising one edge of the thick green material on two even sticks, and holding the edge opposite to the ground with some larger stones, the tarp provided a small shelter in case of precipitation.

Brian and Meredith walked over to it slowly, their fingers entwined the entire time, and lay down together next to Charlene. Darren walked with Julia back, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, the two were still chatting in hushed tones. Joe scooped up Lauren, who had fallen asleep just after 2 am. Joey, Jaime, Clark, and Liam left the circle at about 3.

The twelve of them all slept incredibly sound that night, for survivors of a plane crash, at least. Julia slept with Liam's stomach under her head all night, and got her legs tangled in Darren's. Darren woke Brian up twice, but accidentally slapping him across the face. Brian held Meredith tight against him all night, the smell of her hair allowing him to sleep easy. Meredith, with her back pressed against Brian, had fallen asleep with Dylan's hand grasped in her own.

Lauren used Joe's chest as a pillow, while Jaime's arm was slung over the petite girl's waist. Clark slept on his back, but as close to Jaime as possible. Joey kept his head next to Darren's, but had his body sprawled the other direction. He snored awfully loud but the silence of the island was the most deafening.

The family slept close. All of them having some sort of physical contact with another. All of them needed the closeness. All of them needed the comfort. All of them needed each other.


	3. Chapter 3: No Longer Alone

"Psst... Charlene! Wake up! Wakey Wakey!" she heard a persistent cooing coming from her right side, and having been on two national tours with that voice, she knew this it's owner immediately.  
_Maybe if i ignore her, she will go away._  
"Is she up yet?", she heard a second voice whisper-yell a few feet from her left, this also was a voice she could easily identify.  
"No!" the first voice called back, "Maybe we should get some water and we coul-"  
"I'm up! I'm up" Charlene Kaye shot up to a sitting position, and watched as a wide-eyed and shocked Lauren fell from a crouched stance to flat on her bum.  
"Do you wanna go exploring with us?" Brian whispered mischievously, his gray-blue eyes twinkling with prospective adventure.  
The young musician nodded. She smiled to herself; even when thrust into uncertainty and danger, her friends always found a way to keep things fun.  
Picking herself up off the beach and dusting of countless tiny grains of sand from her rumpled attire, Charlene followed Brian off towards the treeline.

"It smells really good in here!" Lauren murmured to herself, Charlene watched Brian smirk at her attics from the very front of their little line.  
But she was right, it did smell nice. The tropical forest was filled with brightly colored flowers and vibrant green leaves, there was a coating of water over everything because of the thick humidity. It smelled fresh. There was a hint of saltiness from the beach which only gave the illusion that their group was on vacation as opposed to being stranded.  
"Let's go this way!" Brian called out from the front, he gestured slightly right of their current path. Veering off in that direction, the three walked in silence; each thinking over all that has happened, still in relative shock by the events of the past 24 hours. Eventually Brian and Lauren got to discussing various unimportant events, however, Charlene chose not to participate, enjoying the soothing sounds of the jungle and peacefulness of her body.  
"Wait guys..." Charlene stopped suddenly. Blue and brown eyes whipped around to face her.  
"Do you hear that?" she asked them.  
"Yea..." Lauren listened, her face concentrated on the sound, "This way!" Suddenly the tiny brunette was in charge of the exploration. Leading her two friends further inland, and further right, the rushing sound grew stronger. Lauren's face quickened, Brian tripped over a branch, and Charlene placed a hand on his shoulder to straighten him out.  
By the time they had looked up again, Lauren had disappeared through the dense foliage and hilly turf.  
"Lo!" Brian called to her.  
"Guys! Come here I found something important!" The two looked to each other for a split second, judging if either of them knew what it'd be. When they were met with the same look of uncertainty, the duo scrambled towards their small friend's voice.  
When they reached her she was standing ankle deep in cool running water, upstream there was a fantastic waterfall, standing about 20 feet tall.

"Woah..." the man's eyes grew wide as he surveyed their beacon of hope, "It's freshwater right?" He asked the smallest who was still splashing along the muddy banks.

Without facing the rest of the exploration party, she bent over and scooped some of the crystal liquid into her palm and brought it up to her lips. She smiled as the cool taste flowed over her tongue before running smoothly down her dry throat. She nodded back to them and smiled a smile that never quite reached her eyes.

-

Ripped from dreamland, Jaime scrunched her eyes even tighter. Even with her baby-blue's closed, the sun's powerful beams were shockingly bright. Blinking a few times she eased herself into an upright position. She surveyed the area around her; a lot of her friends were still encased in a deep slumber, though some of them seemed to be out and about. Where Brian, Charlene, Julia, Lauren, and Darren were there was now emptiness. She slowly forced her sore body to its feet, and was delicately stretching her back when she heard Joe stir down and to her left.

He, like herself, had squeezed his eyes shut tight against the sun. She saw his right arm shoot out to the right, and feel around for the small body that should have been there. Jaime smirked but remained silent. When his fingers found nothing but the sandy blanket, he jumped into a sitting position and his sleep-laced eyes were suddenly wide-awake.

Noticing Jaime, and her bemused expression, he dropped his previously panicked expression and ran his fingers through his light brown hair, trying to play it cool. He cleared his throat, "Morning, Jaims."

She laughed softly, "Morning, Joe", she smiled sweetly down at him, "Wanna take a walk with me?"

"Sure!" The two walking in companionable silence down to the water's edge. The stood for a few minutes, each deep breathing the salty air. Both pairs of blue eyes scanned the horizon, trying their best to look beyond the turquoise waves. The warm water lapped around their bare feet, and dragged the slushy sand beneath them out to its depths, causing the pair to grew shorter and shorter with each passing crash.

"Where-?" Joe broke the silence, beginning to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind.

"I don't know where Lauren is, if that's what you're asking." The corners of her lips twitched as he scoffed at her for making such an accusation, though, the pink tips of his ears, told her it wasn't as ridiculous as he wanted her to believe.

"I don't know where, Brian and Charlene are either. I saw Darren and Juls talking to some people further down that way." Her gaze had returned to the ocean, and she limply raised her right arm in the direction she had seen their other friends.

Just then a young woman of about 17 or 18 approached them. She looked a bit hesitant to interrupt.

"Erm... Hi!"She approached the two slowly, raising a hand to brush her bangs out of her blue-green eyes with her pointer finger, she shifted her feet nervously, "I, um, found this on the beach last night, and I know Darren plays, and I have asked a few people, and they say it isn't theirs and so I was thinking it might be his or Clark's, and even if it isn't I was wondering if you guys might want it." She began babbling uncontrollably, releasing a string of words in one breath, and holding out a black guitar case, that they presumed held the string instrument.

The two friends smiled at the girl, "Thanks! I think this is his, actually!" Joe took the hold of the handle, "You sat across the aisle from us, didn't you, on the plane?" He asked her.

Her eyes shone, and her lips curved into a small smile as she nodded, "I'm Kelsey," She stuck out her small hand in greeting, "Sorry for being so weird, I am a huge fan!"

Jaime shook the girls hand with a smile, as Joe chuckled at her excitement.

"It's nice to meet you Kelsey."

-

The sun was beginning to sink on their second day on the island. Where was their rescue? Why was it taking them so long to find them? The survivors of the crash once again were sitting together around a giant fire. It had been a long day. Seemingly longer that the day before, which they thought, was the longest any of them _had _ever or _would_ ever have. But there had to be something about 100 degree heat, little food or water, and about 50 strangers all recovering from a traumatic experience that seemed to add to the 24 hours.

But there was some good that came out of the day. A freshwater source was discovered as well as a mango tree, and new friends were made. All usable supplies and luggage from the crash was swapped around so people could find clothes in their size, or tools a group needed. For the most part, people seemed to come together and to put aside differences so they could all survive until help came.

When Charlene, Lauren, and Brian had returned, with their discovery of fresh water, the survivors had made their decision to move camp down the beach, closer to the waterfall, the next day. Then they could cut a path into the jungle for easier access to drinking water.

James, the elderly man with the thick gray moustache who sat next to Joe the night previous, had become a sort of agreed upon leader. Julia, not to her friend's surprise, also stepped forward to help organize the people of the crash.

"How's my favorite girl doing?" Joey stepped over the log, and plopped his rear-end down beside Jaime, crooked grin fully intact.

"Fine, I guess..." She sighed, though her heart was a flutter at his words.

"Just fine?" His once playful tone, turned to one of mild concern. But the question was never answered.

"Hey guys, can I sit with you?" Lauren's usual cheeriness was replaced with one of defeat and exhaustion. Sitting herself down in the sand at their feet she rested against Joey's long legs, and stared blankly into the fire.

"Hey... what's wrong?" Jaime asked her, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"Nothing, I am just tired is all."She mumbled, toying with her fingers. Jaime and Joey both looked at each other_, 'Do you know what's wrong?' 'No'._

"Okay then..." Jaime gave a weak attempt at starting a conversation, "Joey, whatever hap-"

"Excuse me, could I please get your attention?" James stood in a small gap of the circle, he had a slight accent that told them he was probably from a southern state in the US.

The circle seemed to quiet down, and Lauren and Julia exchanged looks from across the flames, asking silently what was going on.

"Thank you, thank you", he smiled as he looked around the circle, and although they could tell it was a genuine smile, there was lingering sadness in his hazel eyes, "Now, I was thinking it might be nice if we all go around and introduce ourselves. None of us know how long we will be here, but I think we should take the chance and get to know each other." As cheesy as the idea was, it was a good one. These people were like new neighbors and I would be great to learn some things about them.

James looked expectantly around the group, and when all was silent, he spoke again. "I will go ahead and start, then... My name is James Moran. I owned a very small farm in Missouri for most of my life, and I was on my way to Australia with my wife, as it was on both of our Bucket Lists." His voice had started strong, but grew faint as it drew to an end. Clearing his throat, he gave an indication for the next person to start.

"I'm Jackson McKay... I, uh, am an aspiring filmmaker and was heading down-under for my next project." Jackson was a good looking man of about 27, with a decided jaw and dark wavy hair. He wore a simple faded red t shirt and black shorts, and smiled around the circle of people as he spoke.

Next was a middle-aged couple going to visit their son, then a single parent and their 12 year old son, a pair of newly-weds going on their honeymoon.

"Elinor Horning, I was on my way home from a vacation with my children. My twins; Vera and Trevor, are asleep right now, but they are quite the masters of comedy!" The australian mother smiled to herself when thinking of her little angels, "My husband luckily took a plane back home on Tuesday for work." The smile was gone and her pretty face was mared in anxiousness, she ran a hand through her blonde hair, and turned expectantly to the next person.

It was another blonde, but she didn't seem to be nearly as nice. "Hey! My name is Robyn Wormley." It was the flight attendant who Lauren had accidentally bumped into before the crash. She was taller, about 5'9" and only seemed able to smile when she was being flirtatious. She had sharp eyes, and a slightly hooked nose. " I am a flight attendant, and was captain of the cheerleading squad in high school!" She grinned broadly, expecting everyone to be impressed. Joey felt Lauren stifling a laugh against his shins.

"Joe Walker," Joe was next, he raised his hand a bit in introduction, "Me and my best friends formed a small theater company out of college, and we were flying to Australia as part of a national tour..." He drifted off when Robyn let out a high pitched, and quite fake, giggle.

The next few people took their turns; Julia, Clark, Liam, Meredith, Brian, and Dylan among them. Each said things simliar to Joe's.

"I'm am Kelsey Kort... She glanced around nervously, but brightened considerably when she noticed Jaime and Joe smiling her way. "I was going to visit my grandma... She, um, well, she is really sick and I am really close to her." She finished awkwardly. She looked even younger now. Kelsey had pale skin, and long brown hair that turned almost gold in the light. She had large blue-green eyes and a pointed chin. She was average height, maybe 5'5", but had naturally small bones that made her appear more petite. She had a cute impish smile and had each of her fingernails painted a different color.

Next was Darren, whom a lot of the survivors had recognized, followed by Charlene. There was a man on his way to a business convention, a pregnant woman going to meet a couple who was to adopt her baby, and a group of friends taking a trip together.

The game continued; each person spoke, and everyone listened. They were still trapped, and scared, and lost. But now they were no longer among strangers. Now, they were no longer alone.


	4. Chapter 4: Uh, Oh

"Hey Joe"

_Not again..._

"Can you come and help me?" Robyn stuck her lower lip out, trying her best to look cute. She was laying on a blue towel, in a floral string bikini that was made for someone with a stature more like Lauren's than the tall, busty blonde lying next to him.

It had been two days since the name game they played around the fire, and Robyn had not left him alone since.

"I actually have to go-" Taking a step away, but he was called back.

"It'll only take 2 seconds!" She sounded almost desperate, forcing him to face her again.

"Fine" He swallowed the groan he felt rising.

"Yay! Can you please rub the tanning oil in on my back?" She smiled towards him.

Joe rolled his eye before forcing his legs to step towards her, he knelt in the sand, and began spreading the thin gel-like liquid around. Grimacing all the while.

"You wanna smoke?" She asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes out from her bag.

"No, I, uh, am trying to quit." He responded as she lit up.

"You know, you can stay and rub me all you want..." she turned and gave him a seductive grin, and, much to his horror, Robyn chose this moment to reach back and one-handedly untie the strings of her top.

THUMP.

Both eyes looked up.

"Sorry.." Lauren mumbled bent over to pick up the wood that had tumbled from her arms, her cheeks were rosy and it clearly wasn't due to the heat. Joe bound to his feet looking pained, "Lo... It wasn't-" He looked down at the barely-covered Robyn, to his oily hands , then to Lauren's crestfallen face, " I was just going to find Darren!" And suddenly Joe was gone.

Picking up the last few pieces she turned to leave when a voice brought her back.  
"Lauren, right?" Robyn scowled and blew a lungful of smoke towards the StarKid.  
"Yea." She knew what was coming next, but couldn't scurry away quick enough.  
"When the rescue boat comes you might wanna see a doctor about your coordination problems." she spoke as though she had commented on the weather. The tiny brunette's mouth formed and 'o' then, she bite back a retort and stalked away, to continue with her job for the day.

"You... You guys heard that too, right? It wasn't just me?" Dylan asked, interrupting Meredith's rendition of 'All Star", and not looking away from the tanning woman.  
"Yea..." Meredith and Clark answered, they too were a bit shell shocked by what they just witnessed.  
With a huff, the brown eyed girl tossed the wood into the steadily growing pile.  
"Hey Lo?" Meredith approached cautiously, "did i really just hear Robyn saying that to you?"  
"what?" Lauren asked momentarily confused, before realization blossomed, "Oh, that... Yea, she is a bitch." she shrugged it off and hoped that the subject would be dropped.  
"You can't let her say things like that to you!" Clark cut in.  
Lauren scoffed, "Like that is the worst she has said..." she mumbled under her breath, and unluckily her friends heard.  
"Wha-" Dylan cut himself short and turned around, stalking towards his unsuspecting victim.  
"No! Dylan... Stop! Please, she isn't worth it!" Lauren pleaded with him, she gripped his forearm with both hands, but even when she dug her heels into the sand, it still wasn't enough to lessen her friends anger. Even if it did get him to stop and face her.  
"Fine. Then you talk to her!" He compromised. The petite looked a bit wary, but nodded and promised that next time it happened she would say something.

He leaned against the trunk of the palm tree. Its bark was rough and covered in edges and cracks, but its uneven surface was quite comfortable under his sore back. He had his most faithful friend lying loosely across his lap; freshly-tuned, as he lazily strummed the tune of his latest creation, and let his eyes roam over all the beach.  
He really liked his new song. It was wordless, which was unusual. Usually lyrics came as the notes did, but he didn't fight it. Never did he fight the music. If the lyrics wanted to come last, he'd let them. If they wanted to come together, he'd let them. But he could instantly tell, from the feeling in his gut, that this song wasn't meant for any musical.  
So, as Darren waited patiently. Letting his mind do what it wished, and hoping poetic verses would meander on in.  
His bright green eyes became trained on a single figure. _She is so stressed. _He thought as he watched her dart from person to person, occasionally scribbling in her notebook. He watched as she yelled for young Trevor to come away from the rising tide, and for Joey not to eat all of the pretzels.  
He released an audible sigh as Julia brushed stray tendrils of brown hair over her shoulder and out of her line of sight.  
"Dude. You are so whipped." Brian chuckled from his left. Darren hadn't even noticed his presence.  
Darren shot him a look.  
"Don't give me any of that." Brian shot at him, "I am just gonna be honest with you, man. Because you need it." Suddenly things had turned serious. The strumming stopped and the green eyes were now in rapt attention of the man beside him.  
"You and Juls, never should have broken up. I understood why, and I did think it was a wise decision at the time, but it has been 4 years now, and you guys are still in love with each other. That means something. You guys have been on other sides of the country, both with crazy schedules, and have tried new relationships. And yet you guys still are in love. You guys are practically married already." He took a break, and watched as all he said sunk in, " I know you guys think that the distance could never work, but, the distance hasn't changed anything yet and it probably never will. Give it another go."

Darren's face hadn't changed for the entirety of his monologue, and, after a few moments of silence, Brian patted him on the shoulder, and left him to think about what he said.

_He is right. _Since the moment they met, he hasn't thought of anything but Julia. She was a permanent part of him. Her eyes, always a vibrant shade of green or gray, he would see everywhere; even on the insides of his eyelids as he tried to sleep.

"What day is it?" He jumped, startled by the presence of his friend.  
"Jesus, Jaime! What did you sneak up on me for?" He spoke calmly trying to regulate his heart again.  
"I have been sitting here for 5 minutes while you stared off into space... I would hardly call that sneaking." She gave him a tiny smile, "But what is the date?" She tried again.  
"Umm... I am pretty sure it is the 5th." He turned back to his beloved guitar and started his newest song up again, this time words were slowly coming into focus.  
"Lauren's birthday is coming up, then." She stated, her blue eyes fixated on his shifting fingers.  
"Yea... It would be great if they could get us by then." He answered cynically, as Meredith came and sat down with them.  
"We still need to celebrate it." She said, "Do you wanna help me plan a party?"  
"I will!" Meredith spoke up, both girls turned to their dark-haired friend.  
"Of course." He softened up. He'd do anything for his friends.  
"Do we still have any of those mini-cake things? Because it can't be a birthday without cake!" Meredith asked, and then added (in her best Donkey impression) "Everybody likes cake!"

The sun was beginning to set now, everything was still fully lit; however, the group of survivors needed to quickly start on their fire, if it were to be ready by the time darkness fell. Liam, Joey, and Jackson, the filmmaker, were working hard to ignite the few embers that they had managed to create.

He watched her for a few moments. Torn between joining her and having to talk about it, and leaving her be, but spending more time without her. Finally, the mental argument he was having with himself came to a close, and he took off his shoes, and walked down to the water.

He knew that she knew he was there, but he waited to speak, and so did she. Coming up next to her; the warm waves lapping just to his shins, while, on her, they made it to her knees.

"What's up?" She spoke first, her eyes never leaving the sun, which was falling faster than he had ever witnessed. Her voice was pure and simple, and that is what scared him the most.

"Uh, nothing.. I, um," He turned to face her, but she looked down, and he knew she wouldn't meet his eyes, "I want you to know that nothing is going on between Robyn and I." He said, earnestly.

She still refused to look at him, but her demeanor changed, she sighed, "You can date whomever you want, Wox, you don't need my permission."

"She is horrible to you, and not my type at all. I don't like her in the slightest!"

"Since when have you had a type?" She finally met his gaze, the familiar smirk in place, but the spark of merriment was missing from her bright eyes, "I thought you just went for any and all women?"

"Oh, you're really funny, you know that?" He shot back.

"I know I am; that's why everybody loves me." She shrugged and the corners of her lips twitched.

"No, no... I don't think that's true." He pretended to think about it. "It is because you are loud, annoying, and stubborn as hell." He smiled widely at her shocked expression.  
The spark was back in her whiskey eyes, as she bent down and sent a spray of sea water showering over her tall friend.

He stood for a moment, the salty liquid dripping off his scruffy jaw, "That was deserved." He admitted, before inflicting his low he sent a large wave in her direction, the damage, however was minimized as his target scurried away.

"God, Lopez, you are such a baby. Running away from a bit of water?" He taunted, but chased after her. This made her stop in her tracks.

"I am not!" Feigning injury by his words, she didn't expect him to be right behind her. This was to Joe's advantage as he caught her off guard and threw her gently over his shoulder.

Walking a bit deeper, to where the waves reached his waist, he smiled as she alternated between dramatic pleas for release, and threats to his life.  
"Please, please, do not throw me in... If you do I swear to God I will kill you in your sleep!"

"You really should be nicer to me, you know. Your fate rests with me." He sighed, glad to see their relationship was back to their old banter.

"Please, Wox? I will do anything, just don't throw me in!" She begged.

"Fiiiiine." He exaggerated. Placing his hands around her waist he set her down delicately in the waves.

"You could have at least let me go in shallower water?" she complained as she waded through the ocean heading closer to shore.

"I can still throw you in, really, it isn't too late!" He offered to her retreating form, his arms open, and his blue eyes twinkled, before following her to the water's edge.

The sun had cast a rosy glow over the earth, making the waves appear diamond, and the sand feel warmer and softer than ever, as the pair walked in the shallows. Each would occasionally stop to examine a stone or shell, or to break the silence with a few soft words.  
"Doesn't it remind you of Oreos?" She asked as she held out at black and white rock the size of her palm.

"Yea, great! Now I really want an Oreo." He chuckled. "Hey!" He exclaimed, "it looks like a heart, right?" he held out the pebble. It was small, flat, and smooth, charcoal gray in hue, and it was shaped like a near perfect heart.

Lauren tossed her Oreo rock back into the water, "C'mon, we should probably get back. The got the fire a-roarin'!" She said with a goofy grin.

The pair turned, neither realizing just how far they had gotten from the group.

"Where is Lauren and Joe?" Charlene asked aloud. The group of StarKid's all sitting together, minus the two who were missing, and Julia who still was bouncing from person to person, doing one answered, no one was listening to her question at all.

"Guys? Why is it taking so long for them to find us?" Meredith asked. And the group that was once buzzing with separate conversations and laughs, suddenly died to complete stillness. Brian pulled her closer to him, and kissed her forehead. Suddenly, no one felt like talking.

"I won!" Lauren grinned, and dropped to the sand in front of Dylan. Joe was two steps behind, he bent over, resting his hands on his knees, and panted.

The group was snapped out of their momentary depression as the new arrivals joined them, and by the time Julia and sat with them, they were all happily chatting together.

"I got an idea!..." Joey grinned mischievously.  
"Uh oh..." Jaime's eyes grew wide, and everyone gaze shifted nervously from one to another.


	5. Chapter 5: Truths and Forced Dares

"Why are you all looking at me like that?!" He questioned, peering into each

face.

"Because your ideas usually end in disaster." Clark answered honestly.

Rolling his eyes and choosing to ignore the statement, Joey continued

communicating his idea. "Let's play a game of Truth!" his voice was bright, ready for the compliments and whole hearted acceptance of his game that did not come.

"We already know everything about each other, so-"

"Like Truth or Dare with no Dare option?"

"Joey, sweetie, this could end badly-"

"No."

"Come on guys! It will be fun!" he encouraged them, "Even more fun _because_ we know each other so well."

"And why is that?" Dylan asked, sounding unconvinced.

"Because you can't say anything that one of us knows already, and if you do.." he thought for a moment, "the rest of us converse and come up with some horrible dare for you to complete!"

"What is this, Junior High?" Julia snorted.

"I'm in!" Lauren called, competition and challenge sparking like fire in her eyes.

"Ehh.. I guess I will play." Brian hesitated but immediately began wracking his brain for a secret knowing his friends could come up with some nasty and/or morally reprehensible task for his to do.

Eventually they all agreed, save Clark who chose to talk to James while his friends went and, as he so lovingly put it, "made idiots out of themselves".

"And as the genius who came up with the idea, I call choosing who has to go first!" Joey spoke quickly, as if someone else was going to choose. The friends chorused a groan and shifted their eyes nervously.

"Let me see.." he drew out his decision, trying to keep them in suspense, "Charlene! You go first!"

The musician sighed, gazing upwards trying hard to think of something no one knew, and preferably something that didn't completely embarrass her.

"You guys won't judge me on this, right?" She asked, her voice deep and throaty. Everyone agreed and let out soft chuckles, looking forward to her secret. "Okay well, sometimes, on occasion, if I am really bored... I might read some fanfiction." she mumbled, "it's some good entertainment!" she tried to justify.

"What kind of fanfiction do you read?" Darren laughed.

Charlene began turning red, "StarKid fanfics.."

It was still for the briefest of moments before they all roared in laughter. Charlene joined in after realizing they weren't upset or freaked out by it.

"Oh. My. God." Julia, with tears in her eyes, laughed. After they all settled

down she spoke again, "I will go next." she half raise her hand and cleared her

throat, "Last year, about a month before Leaky... I wrote a fanfiction about

us."

"No way!"

"Wait, what!?"

"What was it about-"

"As soon as we get off this island I am going to hunt that story Dow-"

She just shook her head, her silvery eyes sparkling, "Mere? You wanna go?"

"Alright, alright, but mine isn't a funny one.." she grumbled, "I had the

biggest crush in the world on Robbie while you were with him, Juls. I really hope you aren't mad at me for it!" she sighed. Robbie was a rather attractive, dark skinned man they went to school with. He was Julia's most serious and longest lasting relationship before Darren.

"Why would I be mad about that? Besides, the past is past." Julia reached over

and squeezed her hand, reassuringly.

"Girls.." Joe mumbled under his breath, causing Lauren to whack him in the stomach without even looking over.

"You go next then, Joe." Meredith glared playfully over at him.

"Fine I will!" He took a deep breath and thought for a second, "In my freshman year of high school I had. Broken arm and got so fed up with the cast that I cut it off myself!" He sat back with a smug look on his face.

"Woah, Woah, Woah! Don't look so proud of yourself. You told me that story already!" Joey said, laughing as Joe's expression turned to one of dread.

"No I haven't.." He argued.

"Yes. You have! And you went and got the saw out of your friend's garage, and he

held your arm down for you!"

Joe cursed to himself while the rest of his friends huddled up a few feet away and, in hush, excited voices, decided his punishment. He watched as Lauren and Joey, especially, talked in excited and hushed whispers. He saw the rest of the group mod and laugh, and as Meredith began counting things on her fingers. His palms began to sweat and he wiped them on the sandy and rumpled fabric of his cargo shorts. His friends began laughing again, and finally, began walking towards him.

"Alright Joseph," Darren spoke threateningly, "we are going to blindfold you."

_Oh, God._ Joe thought, _this is going to be worse than anything I imagined._

"-and we are going to hold three mystery objects in front of you, upon command you must like whatever is in front of your face and after, you must guess what it was!" all of them has crazed and maniacal smiles on their faces.

Julia tied her silky blue scarf around his equally blue eyes, everything went black and all sounds became muffled. He could feel the air change as his friends scrambled around, and hear their near-silent whispers.

"LICK!" he heard Jaime shout, and, bracing himself for the worst, he stuck out his pink tongue and dragged it across the mystery surface. It was smooth and tasteless and was covered lightly with short hairs. It was disgusting.

Joe had only just finished gagging when Jaime's voice commanded his tongue again. This time his mouth filled with millions of sand grains that lodges under his tongue and against his gums, some even went as far as the back of his throat, causing A coughing fit. He felt a gentle hand rubbing his back, and he wasn't sure if it was Liam's or Dylan's.

He heard the final call from Jaime and some scuffling and a hissed "no, guys!" He stuck his tongue out obediently. This time the result was not unpleasant, strange maybe, but not as bad as the first two. The surface was soft and smooth, it smelled of vanilla and was as easy to identify as the sand.

He sat a moment longer in darkness before Julia untied his blindfold for him and sat back down next the Charlene.

"What were they, Walker?" Brian asked, watching him intently.

"Easy." Joe smiled confidently at them, "Object 1: Joey's chest. Object 2: a handful of sand. Object 3: Lauren's cheek."

He was right, of course.

The game continued, each friend confessing the unknown: Lauren, the time she had to go to the Principals office in fifth grade (something her parents still didn't know), Darren, walking in on two of their professors doing some wildly inappropriate things, Brian had lied about when he had his first time, and Dylan being the one that broke Darren's guitar their Senior year. Liam had to take the the dare: Brian's foot, sunscreen, and a bit of seaweed respectively.

Each person had taken their turn, laughs were shared, and finally only Joey was left to spill his deepest secret. Unfortunately for him, he had completely forgotten to think of something no one knew, there is no way he would be licking anything his friends put in front of him, especially with Joes dirty mind. He had that one secret, but he couldn't tell anyone _that._

"C'mon Richter, it's our turn!" Lauren was growing impatient.

"Yea, you have had enough time to think!" Brian chimed in.

All his friends were growing restless, Joey began sweating, _what was he going to say?! He had to say something!_

"Uh-... I um.." he began stuttering, his friends gazes growing more and more expectant. Joey squeezed his eyes shut willing for something, anything, to make itself known, and before he could stop it the words flew out of his full force and full volume, "JAIME AND I HAVE BEEN SLEEPING TOGETHER!"


End file.
